Communication Tool:

Group Members:
Michael and Ryan


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Brief introduction of the tool
Thinkature is an interactive tool that takes instant messaging to the next level.With Thinkature individuals can share communicate information. Individuals can:


  • Instant Messaging your coworkers, classmates, and friends
  • Communicate via drawings and diagrams
  • Create Flashcards
  • Add Internet Content (videos,links, etc.)

Thinkature is the perfect tool for planning events, coordinating with professionals and classmates, or simply engaging in a more engaging and interactive conversation with others.



  • Advantages of the tool

  1. You can use it anywhere: Thinkature doesn't require any software and is located inside of your browsers, thus you can use it from anywhere.
  2. It allows you to illustrate points that would be difficult to explain in text.
  3. Allows you to easily collaborate with multiple individuals at the same time.
  4. Facilitates both synchronous one-one communication and synchronous one-many communication.
  5. Could easily be used to facilitate literary discussions at home for homework assignments.
  6. Could be used to practice vocabulary driven assignments.




  • Disadvantages (limitations) of the tool

  1. You can't physically see the individuals you're speaking with, meaning that certain nuances, such as facial expression or tonal inflection, can't be communicated via Thinkature.
  2. You can't easily monitor what your students add on Thinkature.
  3. It would be hard for you, as a teacher, to add to and comment on the discussions going on for each individual Thinkature discussion. The teacher becomes more detached and less involved in discussion.



Application of the tool in your subject area
Think of one example of integrating the tool in teaching your subject area.
What will the teacher be doing? What will students be doing?


In our opinion Thinkature is perfect for educational circumstances in which student to student and student to teacher cooperation and participation is the desired outcome. Assuming that everyone involved has access to a computer an entire class can collaborate on any given subject in real-time! The teacher with little effort can put forth the main ideas and the heart of the material intended to be studied while students can go off and research those main ideas and return with the necessary information; the final result being a through conglomerate outline. English teachers could easily have students go home and use Thinkature to discuss the text they're reading in class at home. Students could then take the insights they gained from their mini discussions and integrate them into a larger class discussion. Thinkature could also be used for vocab practice; students who needed to review tone words for the A.P Literature test could create flash cards and review them on Thinkature with their fellow classmates.







YouTube tutorial video













Useful Resources
http://lifedev.net/2007/01/mind-mapping-program-review-desktop-or-online/
http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/thinkature/
http://cyber-kap.blogspot.com/2009/11/thinkature.html
http://techcrunch.com/2006/11/08/conceptshare-and-thinkature-two-approaches-to-visual-collaboration/